50 Horror(?) Classics DVD set

[odinn7]

A few weeks ago my wife got me this DVD set put out by Tree Line Films and I was quite happy with it. I have viewed many of the films on there but I noticed that, even though it's called '50 Horror Classics', not all of the movies are horror. What happened here? "Swamp Women", though it sounds promising, is not even close to horror. "Doomed To Die" and "The Fatal Hour" stars Boris Karloff but he's playing Asian detective Wong...not a monster. "Metropolis" is more of a sci-fi movie than horror. I could go on but I won't bore you. I am happy with the set in that it contains 50 B movies and most are watchable quality (the price was right too) but it was really labled incorrectly with "Horror" in the title.  Does anyone think that they just picked these movies by the name or perhaps by the name and who was in them? Surely something starring Boris Karloff must be a horror movie, right? I will say though, "Swamp Women" did turn out to be a horror movie...it was horrible and I had a tough time sitting through it.

[Derf]

I got the Sci-Fi set from Tree Line and was pleased with it overall (I loaned it to my sister and haven't gotten it back yet, so I haven't watched all of the movies). I looked at the horror set, but, as you point out, not all the movies looked to be horror, so I opted for the Sci-Fi set, which had more movies I recognized.

I'll agree that not a lot of thought seems to have gone into picking the movies; perhaps they did just pick them by title.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I got the Horror set for Christmas from a family member and it's ok.  Like you said Odinn, it's not all horror but it does contain some flicks I had been wanting to see.

I think that they mainly went by who was in the films, not by the content of the films.  They knew they could exploit Karloff's name to sell discs.

[Gerry]

The Sci-Fi set is equally a mis-matched bunch.  It has half a dozen sword and sandal movies (which I love, but are hardly sci-fi) and other odds and ends like SHE-GODS OF SHARK REEF which has no fantastic elements whatsoever ,and LASER MISSION, a crappy Brandon Lee action movie that isn't even marginally sci-fi.

[The Burgomaster]

I have almost bought a few of these sets several times, but I was always worried about the quality.  Although, for the price, I guess I can't expect TOO much quality.  I may buy the one with all the detective movies on it (like Sherlock Holmes and Bulldog Drummond).  I think it's called "50 Mystery Classics."  Forget about whether these movies are really "sci-fi" or "horror" or whatever.  I'm more disturbed that they have the nerve to call most of them "classics!"



Post Edited (08-17-05 21:33)

[odinn7]

Yesterday, after I made this original post, I sent an e-mail to the contact listed on Treelinefilms.com and told him about my displeasure with adding some of these films to a horror set. I wasn't nasty and I did have some positive things to say about the set. I don't really know what I expected in return or why I even sent the e-mail in the first place. I guess I just wanted them to know that it wasn't right to do this. But, as I expected, I haven't gotten a reply or even an acknowledgement from them. They got my money and that's all that matters to them.

[trekgeezer]

I've noticed they have these sets over at Big Lots for $19.95. Looking at the SciFi one, I noticed I already own several of the movies.

How's the picture quality on them?

[Derf]

trek_geezer wrote:

> I've noticed they have these sets over at Big Lots for $19.95.
> Looking at the SciFi one, I noticed I already own several of
> the movies.
>
> How's the picture quality on them?
>

Picture quality isn't too bad on the ones I watched. Naturally, the aspect ratio is set for regular TV rather than wide screen, but that only affects some of the newer ones. The pictures are generally bright, and the sound is reasonably clear. Criterion has nothing to worry about, but then I don't see a Criterion version of Wild Women of Wongo coming out any time soon anyway.

[odinn7]

The picture quality is fair, watchable on my set. It obviously didn't go through any digital remastering but for the price, the quality isn't overall bad.

[Gerry]

Derf wrote:

> trek_geezer wrote:
> >
> > How's the picture quality on them?
> >
>
> Picture quality isn't too bad on the ones I watched.

I agree.  The quality isn't bad at all.  I managed to get my sets on sale at Deep Discount and picked them up for about $15 each.  That's something like 30 cents a movie.  You can't beat that price even if the quality is terrible.

[Andrew]

I have a few of these large sets now and the bang for your buck is very high.  Granted, they are not restored versions or anything special, but all have been of a decent grade.  At least to someone who grew up with TV antennas and VCRs.  Maybe the digital age kids will expect more.  On the other hand, I've seen the ripped movies they download off of Kazaa...

Sometimes the titles bundled in with the sets are a bit of a stretch.  Most of the time I figure that it is just a title they are able to distribute for a rock bottom price.  We often buy these sets to get just a few of the movies.  The rest are filler.

[Flangepart]

And lets not forget the most important part...are they riffable?
I would say, Yea Verily!
So much MST potential, for a fraction of the price!
Whats not to love?

[Anonymous User]

I have the Sci-Fi set and the Horror set, and I like the Horror set better. The Sci-Fi set, with all it's Hercules movies and dreary Italian sci-fi, is just so far away from what I wanted and expected that at this point I would probably give it a "thumbs down" for the general SF fan. I like the horror set better, the movies are better and the picture quality is better. I've heard that the Mystery set is the best set of all, so I may get that one next.

And no way should the word "Classics" be used on these boxes, very misleading, especially to some poor slob who doesn't know much about it and is just wanting to buy a nice gift for someone.